Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-16226

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-14079 by Jenny Gilruth on 6 February 2023, how many potholes were (a) reported to and (b) repaired by Transport Scotland in Skye in each month of (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022.

The following tables show how many potholes have been reported and repaired by Transport Scotland’s Operating Company, BEAR Scotland, in Skye in each month of (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022.

2021	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
Potholes Reported	14	13	15	17	10	5	8	2	6	6	4	4
Potholes Repaired	14	12	15	17	10	5	8	2	6	6	4	4

2022	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
Potholes Reported	3	8	12	10	16	9	8	4	1	7	8	11
Potholes Repaired	3	8	11	10	16	9	8	4	1	7	4	6

The number of reported potholes may differ to the number repaired within the same month. Reasons for this include delays due to severe weather, restrictions on the network, although temporary repairs will have been made, and repairs being completed the following month while still meeting the requirement to be permanently repaired within 28 days.

Question reference: S6W-16296

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many individual pieces of guidance have been issued to local authorities since May 2021.

Question reference: S6W-16306

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has held with housing developers regarding the implementation of the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4).

Officials have met with housing developers throughout the preparation of NPF4. Most recently, Planning, Housing and Analytical officials met with members of the industry to discuss matters relating to Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) on 6 February 2023. This followed the Local Government and Housing Committee’s consideration of NPF4. We will continue to work with Homes for Scotland and their members as we move to deliver NPF4.

Question reference: S6W-16305

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has held with chairs of planning authorities regarding the implementation of the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4).

Question reference: S6W-16347

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what quantity of aluminium materials has been collected for recycling in each year since 2016.

Question reference: S6W-16037

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the Deposit Return Scheme.

I attended the recent Inter-ministerial group on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 6 March 2023 where Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme was discussed. The next meeting of this group is scheduled for 17 April.

Officials also meet regularly with other departments in the UK, Welsh and Northern Irish administrations to discuss DRS. Recently the following meetings have taken place:

30 March – Senior Officials Programme Board
30 March – UK Common Frameworks Project Board
3 April – Scottish Government / Defra bilateral meeting

Officials are also in regular contact with counterparts in the UK Government outwith these engagements.

Question reference: S6W-16110

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many households in Scotland are on the Priority Services Register.

Question reference: S6W-14637

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what provisions it has introduced to address train delays between Tweedbank and Edinburgh.

The Borders railway line between Tweedbank and Edinburgh has been affected by ongoing issues with poor performance and the availability of diesel trains in ScotRail’s fleet. Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail are working to address this via an Improvement Plan. The reliability of ScotRail trains on this route has also been impacted by the poor performance of UK Government-managed train operating companies, which interact with Tweedbank services on the East Coast Mainline closer to Edinburgh.

Question reference: S6W-14638

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what provisions it has introduced to address train delays between East Lothian and Edinburgh.

Performance (reliability and punctuality) at Musselburgh, Wallyford, Prestonpans, Longniddry, and Drem on the North Berwick Line compare favourably with the ScotRail average, which in turn compares well with the GB average. Nonetheless, it is the responsibility of Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail to work in partnership with Network Rail in Scotland to continue to improve performance.

For Dunbar in East Lothian, many of the services are provided by LNER, Cross Country and Transpennine Express, which are UK Government train operating companies.

Question reference: S6W-15975

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of any potential impact of local authorities decreasing relief on non-domestic rates for empty, listed properties.

Empty Property Relief was devolved to councils on 1 April 2023, including non-domestic rates exemptions for unoccupied listed buildings. Listed buildings were specifically included following discussion with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities in 2019, as set out in a letter from the then Minister for Public Finance and Digital Economy to the Local Government and Communities Committee dated 7 October 2019.

The Scottish Budget 2023-24 confirmed a financial transfer of £105m to local authorities to spend at their discretion, concurrent to this devolution. This allows local authorities to tailor any support for unoccupied property, including listed buildings, to best support their local needs.

The Scottish Government will collect data from local authorities on any local relief awarded to unoccupied properties, including listed buildings, which will inform an early evaluation of the impact of the devolution of EPR in advance of the next revaluation.